CINCINNATI (AP) — Michael Pratt found Shae Wyatt with a 30-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes left to lead No. 19 Tulane to a 27-24 win over No. 24 Cincinnati on Friday, making the Green Wave the hosts for the upcoming American Conference Championship game.
Tyjae Spears rushed for two touchdowns and had 181 yards to contribute to the cause for Tulane (10-2, 7-1 AAC), which beat Cincinnati (9-3, 6-2) for the first time in five tries. Tulane also snapped the Bearcats’ 32-game home streak.
Pratt went 13-for-22 passing for 162 yards and the winning touchdown. He also rushed for 30 yards on nine carries.
Redshirt sophomore Evan Prater started at quarterback for Cincinnati in place of Ben Bryant, who suffered a foot injury in the win over Temple. Overall, Prater was 10-for-26 for 102 yards and rushed for 83 yards on 18 carries.
But he was intercepted by Dorian Williams on a tipped pass to Devean Deal midway through the third quarter. Bryon Threats was flagged for pass interference on a fourth-and-3 pass attempt to set up Spears’ go-ahead two-yard run.
Tulane had a 13-10 lead at halftime as Valentino Ambrosio kicked a 47-yard field goal with 21 seconds left. The kick followed a 28-yard pass from Pratt to Lawrence Keys III, which was ruled a touchdown on the field as Keys appeared to roll over Arquon Bush for a 58-yard score but overturned when replays showed Keys’ knee touched the turf.
Tulane has something special in Spears, who passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 103 yards in the first half. He leads The American in touchdowns with 16.
The Green Wave’s opponent in the championship game will be determined by Saturday’s results. UCF would advance to the championship game with a win against South Florida Saturday night.
A South Florida win against UCF coupled with a Tulsa win against Houston would create a rematch in the championship game between Tulane and Cincinnati.
Wins by South Florida and Houston would send the higher-ranked of Cincinnati and Houston in average of Sunday computer rankings (Anderson & Hester, Billingsley, Colley, Wolfe) to the championship game. Cincinnati’s average rank entering this week was 26.75, while Houston’s was 47.25.
Tickets for the 2022 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game will be made available through the ticket offices of the participating institutions.The championship game will be televised live on ABC for the eighth consecutive season.
The latest information on the 2022 American Football Championship will be available on the conference’s Championship Central site at http://www.theamerican.org/football